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Another $60M hotel investment fizzles
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Posted on Sep 10 2011
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
Island Ventures LLC has scrapped its plan to build a new $60 million five-star hotel on public land in San Roque, citing corporate restructuring and economic uncertainties.
“They pulled out of the project,” Department of Public Lands Secretary Oscar M. Babauta said in an interview yesterday, referring to Islands Ventures’ notification letter to DPL last week.
Herman P. Sablan, representative of Island Ventures in the CNMI, confirmed the investment pullout yesterday, because of corporate restructuring and the turmoil in the stock market.
“As the company’s representative in the CNMI, I took it upon myself to pull out from the project while they’re doing their restructuring. I made the decision, so that other investors can come in and consider the public land. I am for the development of the CNMI. This will open the door to other investors,” Sablan said in a phone interview last night.
Islands Ventures is the third group of investors to cancel its investment plan on the same 5.1-hectare of public land in the Marpi/San Roque area, north of the former The Palms Resort.
The first two were Flame Sako, which had planned an $80 million hotel, and Leisure Planner which had planned a $120-million hotel.
Unlike Islands Ventures and Leisure Planner, which pulled out even before a formal lease agreement could be signed with DPL, Flame Sako abandoned its Legislature-approved lease agreement with DPL.
Island Ventures LLC’s investors include a California-based company with financial investments in Hong Kong.
Despite the pullout of the third investor in a two-year span, Babauta remains optimistic that another investor will come in and consider the property.
Island Ventures’ pullout came just a few months after DPL granted it temporary authorization to enter the premises for cleanup and land survey, among other things, while a lease agreement was still being worked on.
It is not yet known whether Island Ventures will also pull out its bid for the revitalization of the La Fiesta Mall.
It’s one of the three bidders for the government’s project, along with United Micronesia Development Association Inc., and Pacific Entertainment Technology.
